Detective: Manipulation!
by ACTE
Summary: It's been over three years scince the apocalyptic battle on top of Mount Phoenix, and during that time, Nermia's nexus vanished. Almost everyone has moved on with thier lives. Nabiki still remembers, though, even as she opens a new chapter in her life.
1. Japan the Ripper pt 1

Detective: Manipulation!

AN: ja… me again… at my first Ranma attempt. Nothing in this story is mine, except for the OC's, plotlines, ect…. Wait. Why do I Disclaim anything? has its own Disclaimer so I don't need to do that! Oh well…

Sil: Shut up. Its fun. Oh yeah, Acte there also thinks this is the first ever Detective Conan/Case closed and Ranma ½ crossover.

A: HEY! It's not my fault!

Sil: If you want to counter that claim just bug Acte over there.

A: I'll tell Aegis!

Sil: Anyway, the whole fic is in the western naming convention, I.E, Ranma Saotome instead of Saotome Ranma

"Speech, Japanese"  
- Other languages -  
'thoughts'

* * *

Detective: Manipulation!  
Chapter one: Case one: Japan the Ripper, File one: Back in Black

* * *

D:Manipulation.CH1 

It was so long after he had disappeared. Was it three years now? She didn't know. She was alone. again.

She needed him... now three years after he had disappeared, she realized that her facade that fooled everyone was still a facade. She herself believed that mask to be her true self... but no, it wasn't.

All thanks to that one boy... no, Man. Thanks to him she realized that the ice queen still had a liquid center.

She... developed feelings for him. No matter what horrendous thing she did, he still bounced back and was civil. He charmed his way into her heart, without even trying. He was there for her... and now she would be for him.

But it didn't matter anymore. Officially pronounced dead. Today. Three years after he went missing. Ranma Saotome: friend, foe, and family.

Everyone felt the effect of his disappearance. Three years ago Akane lost touch with the world for a while; Ryoga not to far behind her. Shampoo and Mousse each changed in different ways, it was hard to tell with them. Ukyo was devastated, and for an odd reason, so were cologne and Happosai. It seemed that their worlds revolved around Ranma, as an adversary, friend, or student. Without him, the daily Nermian chaos faded... but was not forgotten. Occasionally some martial artists or random person that has heard of him would wander into town, only to leave dejectedly when they realized that Ranma was presumed dead.

Yet some stayed. Out of countless ones that moved on, there was one woman who came looking for Ranma one year after he went missing. This mystery woman was a relative of the old lady that saved Ranma from the Neko-ken. As a formidable martial artist, she wished to adopt Ranma despite being single. It was heartbreaking to see this attractive and jovial female break into tears upon hearing the news about Ranma's presumed death. Yet she found a reason to stay. One can say "It is all Ranma's Fault!"

Even in presumed death Ranma worked wonders, as after meeting and getting to know this amazing woman, Soun soon saw the writing on the wall, and changed for the better. He now was at least, if not more, of a man than he ever was.

Thinking back to their wedding, Nabiki fondly remembered the moment of happiness among the sea of sorrow that these three years has become.

The woman, ironically named Koneko, also found a kindred soul in Kasumi. It was not a moment too soon. When Ranma left, Kasumi started to revert into a shell, throwing whatever she had into her studies at the college and her family, but thanks to this amazing woman, she once again had a happy, fulfilling life.

Genma and Nodoka... well, Genma and Nodoka were saddened, but they dare not show it. But walk past that house on that street that emanates lonely ki, and you can still hear the occasional sob, and the frequent hitting of flesh on wood.

The Kuno's were another strange point. The Terrible Trio were driven further into insanity, if possible. It seemed that the only thing keeping them from getting worse was to have an adversary to obsess about...

But that didn't matter. What mattered was that He was gone. That was all. The loneliness, despite her newfound friends, the ache was there. She new it was not friendship that would constantly hurt like this when broken off, but something stronger. They say "Third times the charm". She tried two different approaches to find him. And now, she is not even trying anymore. She would save that last chance.

Three years... such a long time. She once thought that she would go to a good college when she got out of high school... like Tokyo U.

Yet she didn't. Instead, she sacrificed her college fund to allow Kasumi to become more than the housewife she acquiesced to become.

His disappearance triggered such a metamorphosis... not even she herself can describe how far it went.

Because of him... she is more afraid than ever to get attached. Yet, she was even more afraid of being alone. Gone was the Ice queen, cold to everyone. She was the Snowflake, beautiful, friendly, yet also cool. She let no one get close enough to do damage... but still was everyone's friend.

It did not stop there. Over the course of her last year at Furnikan High, her shady exploits gave way to more legal things, like the few civil cases she took on as a high school lawyer and detective for some friends' families.

She won them all. It was a great feeling, being there to help defend the innocent and lock away the guilty. Maybe this is why Ranma promised to protect the weak. Maybe she was becoming more like Ranma by helping people. Maybe that is why she started this thing up...

Yet, for some reason when asked, she can never procure a reason.

And so, hearing the door open and a client come in, she turns her head away from the window.

But only after she takes her eyes off a sign surrounded by falling leaves that held the words:

"Tendo Detective Agency and Legal Advisory."

...ElSeTiMe&ElSeWhErE...

A Night Earlier, During Night-time Police Patrols, Something Strange Happened.

A filthy, bleeding, and beaten kid staggers out of an alley, only to run into a uniformed police…girl?

"Watch where you're going!" the policewoman yelled out… only to stop and look at the bruised boy. He couldn't be older than 8. He needed help, and soon. Gripping her hand onto his arm, she started to think…

Officer Yumi Miyamoto was not having a good day. An officer of Division One of the Tokyo Metropolitan area police, life in the Beika prefecture no longer seemed as good as it once was when certain things happen. Certain things like the almost certain failure of her very precious "pet project", the getting together of her friends, Officers Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato. Why did those two have to be so thick! And why did they have to be so lovable?

Not only was her pet project suffering from the very subjects that it involved, the rest of the department seemed dead set on breaking the two up! And what's with Mr. "Elite-team" Shiratori questioning her motives? Takagi and Sato BELONGED together! Takagi a more open version of … Jinpei Matsuda, the only other man that managed to touch Miwako's heart. WHY COULDN'T THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENT SEE THAT THE DUO BELONGED TOGETHER? Pff… Men. Stupid idiots, all of them. So what if Sato was the only female inspector in their division?

To make matters worse her boss was threatening to dock her pay by 10 if she did not go on double NIGHT patrols because of her "excessive partying"! ARGH! She just wanted to have a little fun on the job, no harm was done or meant to be done! And then she runs into THIS kid! What a drag! … wait…

As she stood consumed by her thoughts and mental rant, the boy broke out of her grasp and tried to run away.

'That boy is STRONG and FAST!' thought Yumi as tried to catch up.

Yet as she pursued after him, she realized that he wasn't that bright. She could easily manipulate him to go where she wanted him to go!

After much pointless following and experimenting how she could manipulate him, she begun to tire out. Luckily, an idea worked its way into her head. She chased him so that he would enter a cul-de-sac of sorts, and just stopped and waited for the inevitable to happen.

And it did. The outsmarted boy ran into her for the SECOND time of the day as he completed a lap around a walled off warehouse. This time, Yumi was ready. She quickly handcuffed the child to herself and dragged him back to the patrol car and proceeded to take him to the station.

'What kind of boy is this?' were Yumi's thoughts. She couldn't believe how fast he could run, and while injured! Could he be… from Nermia? Nah, not possible! That was at least 10 kilometers from Beika! And how did he get so bruised and battered? The more she thought, the more questions popped up.

So engrossed in her own thoughts and task, she was oblivious to the glowing aura that manifested around that child.

...TeNdOdEtEcTiVeAgEnCy...

Piercingly sharp eyes watched a mysterious figure as it entered the office.

"Hello, and welcome to the Tendo Detective Office. Our legal services are currently… unavailable" said Nabiki as she greeted her mysterious client.

"If you are here with a detective case for me, come and sit down. If you desire advice on legal issues, you'll have to wait for 6 months" 'once I finally finish that stupid law school' the former ice queen added silently.

Hesitantly, the covered figure slowly crossed the room and sat down at Nabiki's desk. Nabiki noted that the client was obviously female. A wide brimmed sun-hat covered the client's head, a pair of sunglasses covered her eyes and an unseasonable scarf hid the rest of her face. Yet on closer inspection, a few wisps of blonde hair and a corner of her milky white ear betrayed the origin of the woman. She was obviously a gajin, a foreigner. This theory was reinforced by the purse and clothing the client wore; Hermes was a French brand of purses, and the coat was in a distinct Italian style.

"My name is… Sofie Lauria, and I'm from the United States. I… I can trust you, right" said the covered figure, with a thickly accented voice partially muffled by her scarf.

Nabiki, thinking that this person only had some trust issues, decided to use an old trick she new. Mindless reassurance. Sure came in handy when she was hunting for secrets…

"-Yes of course you can trust me. I am an honest detective. And one does not 'bite the hand that feeds', right?-"

Shocked by Nabiki's use of English, Sofie quickly switched to her native language, silently thanking the fates that this detective knew English.

"- I currently am in… a tight spot. I currently stay at the Beika Hotel -" said the young woman as she removed her scarf, sunglasses and hat, allowing her to communicate with the cool and calculating detective. "- You see… there has been a murder, and the police and hotel administrators are trying to keep quiet about it -"

"What? A murder? When? Where? Details?" Nabiki asked in a panic, unknowingly switching back into Japanese.

"Hahaha… - it has been said that in times of great panic and anger one switches back to their native tongue, no? I am sorry, but I don't know Japanese too well, just the basics. I can't understand you when you speak so fast -" answered the now smiling lady.

Nabiki took a moment to compose herself, and during this time her eyes and mind automatically took notes on her client. She was not too tall, maybe 165 cm, and had a slim athletic figure. Her eyes were hazel, and they fit well on her milky white almond-shaped face. Her hair, pulled back into an easily disguised bun, was definitely blonde and was also very fine. As a whole, the girl in front of Nabiki could not be older than 20, just around her own age.

This client also emanated a sense of familiarity that Nabiki could not place, like a face that was remembered yet without a name. But now was not the time. Nabiki was a professional and this woman was her employer now. It was back to business. Back to the old Ice Queen's game.

"- Sorry, the news of the murder shocked me -" the fledging detective replied. "- I am glad my English skills were the top in my class, as now I can helps you better. I just wanted the time, location, and details of the murder -"

As Nabiki finished her sentence, she noticed a forming smirk fade back into a grim line. Oh… she screwed up her verb conjugation again. Ignoring what she considered to be an extremely stupid mistake, she listened to her client's story.

"- Well… the time was last night, sometime after 10:00, that's when I fell asleep; the location was a room on the same floor as mine, the thirteenth floor, the room number is 1331- "answered the lady. "-the main concern of mine is that… well, there was a message left behind… and I didn't know what it said until I asked a police officer -"

Instantly intrigued, Nabiki quickly asked, "- and what was the message that would make a person lose faith in the police? -"

"Foreigners shall Die" whispered the distraught girl in Japanese. "-I didn't know any word in that message other than Gajin, and so I further asked the policeman what it meant in English. He looked at me funny and told me what it meant again along with the comment 'Hide, you might be next'-"

"-But that's not the whole story, -" accused Nabiki. "- Why is it that your breasts are bound? It is a practice more common in Japan than the United States.-"

"-How did you know?-" the young woman replied with a gasp.

Smirking at the question, Nabiki supplied her verdict. "-The way you moved made you seem like you were in pain, also you quickly moved your purse when it hit your chest right after you winced, indicating that the cause of your pain was from your chest, and you are too young to have heart problems-"

"-Well, there is one more piece of the puzzle… the person who was killed was my friend… another girl… the police concluded that she was … that she was… that she was raped… then… then partially butchered like in those tales of… of… Jack….-" Unable to speak any longer, the girl burst into tears.

Confronted with her crying client, Nabiki displayed another trait that she inherited from Ranma… a soft spot for crying girls. She quickly rushed over to Sofie's side and whispered comforting words to her.

"-don't worry, I'll help you. We can get the police to help you. I know lots of martial artists, in fact I come from a family of them. I can bring you to some self defense lessons later too. Also, I know kung fu!-" Nabiki told the girl, hoping her parting joke would cheer the crying client up. And it did.

In between sniffles, Sofie expressed her gratitude "- Thank… thank you. I… I really … I really appreciate your help. Its just so… so terrifying!-"

Nabiki, having had concerns about the very thing herself, understood the stress, pain, and terror her client was going through. After all, what girl did not fear being raped? It was a common fear, a fear she learned to control early in her career. She was happy that she took up her father and Koneko's offer of a few martial arts classes. In her line of work, one needed to protect oneself.

While her schooling in the arts covered the whole gamut, her focus was mainly defensive. Judo, Aikido, and Tai Chi composed of over 80 percent of her martial arts repertoire; a repertoire that was focused on the properties of water. Judo was sudden like steam, Aikido was solid like ice, and Tai Chi was fluid like water. The remaining 20 percent of her repertoire was offensive, coming from arts such as Kempo, Wu Shu, and Tae Kwon Do. A few martial arts classes do wonders to one's self esteem, and to one's confidence. She knew that it was crucial for Sofie to rebuild that lost confidence and security because of the horrendous crime. She could finally help another person like Ranma helped her.

"-alright Sofie, you were really brave to come to me with such a dastardly crime. I will definitely help you as much as I can!-" Nabiki's determination was quite evident in her voice. "-Your Culprit will feel his will Yield to the Power of the Laws of Heaven and Nature!-"

Taken aback by this fiery declaration, Sofie could only wish to herself that she could be as confident, secure, and professional as this detective.

"-So, first thing's first. Let's go Shopping!-"

And so, Sofie got introduced to her first Japanese Cultural Item: The Face-fault; Step one: start high. Step two: plant your face into the ground. Have a nice day. Well… as nice of a day you can have with your head stuck in a 10 cm deep crater…

Oh well… as they say, Too bad, too sad, boo-hoo…

...D:ManipulationChapter1...

Something was wrong. Even a rookie officer could tell you that, and Yumi was NOT a rookie. Something really bad happened. Her police radio was flooded with incoming messages, some cutting each other off, yet others overlapping and drowning each other out. Some were in a gajin language, some in frantic Japanese. It was big; whatever happened.

Soon it just became too much, the noise annoyed her to the point of no return. Against her better judgment, she turned off her radio. From experience she knew that it was impossible for Base to contact her in such a situation, so she could always blame the static and background noise. She could finally relax and maybe even eat that special chocolate that she stashed away for moments like these… chocolate…

"Why'd ya turn off da radio?"

Quickly snapping out of her fantasy, she realized that the kid was still in her front seat. Just a kid. Nothing too bad… wait. He was supposed to be in the back seat!

"HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" she screamed in surprise.

"Ya know, it's really easy to get into da front seat, especially after ya took off my handcuffs for me and walked away." The kid just smirked holding out his unchained hands.

"Oh… Yeah… that's right." Looking a bit embarrassed, the female officer didn't know what to say at the moment. She didn't realize that she was so scatterbrained lately. Maybe Megure had a reason to threaten her to shape up…

"Hey, what kind of chocolate is this?" exclaimed the child, his steel blue eyes adopting a strange glint as he held on to a bar of chocolate.

"Huh, what? HEY, GIVE ME THAT!" was Yumi's only answer. That candy bar must not be her special one… or ELSE!

Reluctantly, the young child handed over the chocolate bar. Luckily, the wrapper was red, not gold and silver. She realized that it was a HI-MILK bar she bought not long ago.

"So… what is it?" the young boy inquired.

"That's HI-MILK, a milk chocolate in which they add extra milk." Answered Yumi, adopting a calmer expression. "Here, you can eat it if you want to."

"Really? Cool! Thanks!" the now happy kid almost shouted, as he opened the wrapper and proceeded to wolf down the candy bar.

Struck by the cute actions of the boy, Yumi could only smile. He really wasn't as bad as she thought! Oops… looks like she needed to pay attention to the road more: the light ahead of her just turned red.

Coasting to a stop, Yumi looked at the boy, only to realize that he stopped eating.

"Hey, what's up?" The young woman asked, puzzled by the sudden stop in eating.

The boy looked up and into her eyes, giving her an electric jolt. Then to her amazement, he broke off a sizable piece of the chocolate and offered it to her.

"Here, try some!" the child said happily.

Yumi thanked the boy and accepted the chocolate; after all, chocolate would be nice at a time like this.

"Thanks for the chocolate Police-san" said the young boy.

"No problem" replied Yumi as she once again started to cruise down the street, toward the police station.

Struck by the realization that she did not even know his name, she decided to find out.

"Hey, gaki, what's your name?"

An uncertain expression soon replaced "Um… um… um.."

Mistaking the boy to have amnesia, she said "don't worry if you don't remember your name… Many people tend to forget sometimes. But if you still can't remember, there are doctors who can help you. They are especially trained to help people who can't remember things. And there are many… oops! Looks like the light's about to go green! "

With the light in front of her now green Yumi concentrated on the road, totally missing the wild search the boy was leading in the car. Rapidly grabbing random things then discarding them, none of the action caught Yumi's attention. This was probably because it had just started to rain during the previous conversation, and the young Miyamoto must realized it.

"I got a name… you can call me…" at this, the boy finally fixated on a certain object. "You can call me … Meiji"

Oblivious to the frantic search for a name "Meiji" just had, Yumi's attention was held on tightly by the now semi-frozen rain falling to the ground, courtesy of the freezing temperatures outside.

Once she registered the now-dubbed "Meiji"'s reply, she realized that she should reply with her own name, she did.

"Alright Meiji. You can call me Miyamoto Yumi-Neesan" replied the road-focused officer.

Nothing else was said, or heard, other than the occasional "snap" of chocolate.

Time went by, and soon Officer Yumi was parking her car in the police station's parking lot.

"Alright Meiji, we're here… I'm going to bring you to the medical ward before I hand in my report for my patrol ok?" the young lady said with a small smile.

Meiji just looked at her and replied "ok…" as he got out of the car.

Seeing that Meiji was already outside, Yumi quickly stepped out of the car and locked the doors. As she escorted Meiji to the medical ward, his hand somehow found hers. It was a cute sight, a young woman running with a child in tow, both getting wet from the rain. If only Yumi wasn't in uniform and Meiji covered with wounds.

As the two drenched people approached the entrance of the station, a candy wrapper drifted in the wind.

On it were the words:

_Meiji_

HI-MILK chocolate bar

AN:

Ok... wow... that... was a lot... for just an idea...  
anyway, "Nabiki" means "to bend or yield to a power" aka Manipulate. a good trait in a detective.

But even better is that "tendo" is "laws of heaven and nature"... you get what I'm hinting at?

Meiji is another play on words. It means "Explicitly State" or "Specifications". It is also the name of the company that makes Japanese chocolates. It is the Japanese equivalent of Hersheys.

Anyway, this chapter is right in the fall before the winter where Eisuke disappears. In the Ranma verse, it is over 3 years after the failed wedding (that never happened) in this story, Genma and Soun had a little more honor and intelligence to force this upon Ranma and Akane. Akane did remember that Ranma said "I love You" and their relationship was good…. Until he disappeared.

When he disappeared, they found a pool of blood… a very large pool, and some bullet casings near the place he was scene last.

ICPO means Interpol.

New AN: Ok… I decided to lengthen the chapter and move some scenes into chapter two. I hope this isn't as "rushed" as it was last time.

Also, I "seem" to add in tons of references to who is saying what. I like doing that, as when I just see plain dialogue without words like "Person A said, Person B replied" ect., I can't tell who's saying what. If you think this is just superfluous, sorry, it's just my style of writing.


	2. Japan the Ripper pt 2

AN: ………

Sil: Acte is still shocked by the sheer amount of positive reviews that was given to this fic. (It's more than he ever expected). He would also like to thank the people of Animeaddiction Forums for their support.

Acte: Oh yeah, and it seems that I am not the first RanmaXCaseClosed crosser… that honor (Now) belongs to one of my reviewers, ranma-saotome-cursed-fighter, with his September 2004 "One Chaotic Truth". Oh well, Second in line isn't that bad…

Sil: Acte just feels bad that he missed that fic when he read the whole Ranma section few years back.

Acte: ok. I disclaim everything… except for the ideas that do not belong to the canon. And I also claim to be the first writer of a CCxRanma½ that is pretty much Nabiki-centric. I'd also like to ask if you think I should up the rating or not…

Sil: I would like to add in one more thing: Acte was inspired to do this fic because of Hung Nguyen's "Elementary, My dear Conan" and all of his wonderful Ranma½ crossovers. Hung seemed to have stopped updating his profile, but his site holds quite a few updates for his stories, such as Tekkadread the Second Stage. Check it out if you have time, and you can visit … us (I think… do multiple personalities count as multiple people?) on the forums, we're "AegisKage"

Acte: Sil should stand corrected. Hung just updated Tekkadread the Second Stage again… after over 1½ years. Anyway. On to the story.

Chapter/Case soundtrack: In loving Memory of Myself (Original lyrics by myself), Duality (another Original Song) and "Teardrop" by MassiveAttack

Chapter 02: Japan the Ripper: Part 2

Case 01: Japan the ripper, File 02: RIP… Reason, Investigate, Present

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This fanfic is based on many REAL themes and people, some of which are: 

Jack the Ripper… one of the most deranged, revolting, and prolific uncaught murderer.

Homogenous societies and racial tensions/supremacy. You see this everyday. Look at the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and the Darfur Genocide.

Some items are real, and so are some of the actions and uses. The writer DOES NOT encourage trying to use any item or action in a way that it is not normally used in, and will not be to blame for what his… imaginative mind comes up with. The writer will try to be realistic, though, such as with human heights, anatomy, and effects of objects such as coffee. Note that Coffee was a randomly selected object for the last sentence so that the rest of chapter is not ruined…well... rest of the fic...

* * *

...SoMeWhErE, NiGhT of the MuRdEr... 

"Hehehehehe…" a Dark figure said. "The police can't even do anything about this crime… Who needs a closed room murder? Soon… the Gajins will know the same fear they oppressed upon us… Yes… Nippon will be GREAT AGAIN!"

In the figure's hands was a jar… a jar with a small, fist-sized object suspended in a clear, slightly yellow, fluid.

Near the jar was a pair of bloody poultry scissors, along with a bloodstained electric knife.

"But I must admit something. Gajin history contains some wonderful ideas… hehehe… some wonderful ideas indeed…" was all the dark figure said as it lowered the jar, and picked up an open book. Splayed across the pages was a collection of images of the five "Canon Ripper Murders" with a folded paper in-between "bookmarking" the pages.

On closer inspection, the title of the said paper begun with: "13, the horrors o…"

...PoLiCeStAtIoN, NiGhT of the MuRdEr...

As Officer Miyamoto and Meiji entered the Beika Area police station (home to Division One), she found a disaster area. All of the police officers, even the ones that had nights off, were there, and in a panic. Puzzled by this situation and frazzled by the noise, she quickly dropped the young boy off at the adjoining medical clinic and promptly took off toward her boss's office.

Her journey from the pristine white medical clinic to Inspector Megure's office was… in a word, hectic. A whole range of sounds, swears, and shouts reached the young officer's ears. The sight of frenzied police officers trying their hardest to figure out how to handle the case was a sight she hadn't seen since Matsuda's death. Finally reaching the door to the Inspector's office, she stopped and took a deep breath before she entered.

Officers Sato, Takagi, and Shiratori were all speaking to Inspector Megure when she came in. The hysterical looks on all of their faces was all Yumi needed to see to know some thing BIG was going on. Of course, something HAD to be big to not even notice her coming in, right? Well… it better be! Still, protocol must be followed. After a quick salute, she proceeded to summarize her patrol.

"Chief Inspector Mergure-san! Officer Miyamoto reporting back from patrol. I have also found a beaten eight year old that looks like he couldn't survive the night; he currently is in the medical ward and is being checked over. He might be transferred to Bieka area hospital later. His name is "Meiji"-san. I'd also like to request permission to know what in the world happened." Yumi quickly reported, surprising the officers in the room. This event better be big and important…

Inspector Megure immediately adopted a serious look after the shock wore off. "There was a murder." Was all that would come out the grim mask that was his face.

"A murder? I know that's serious, but why is EVERYONE here, and in a panic?" Questioned Yumi, as she could feel that there was something more sinister going on.

With a resigned sigh, Megure started to explain…

"Officer, we might have a international incident on our hands. Someone killed an American model who was staying at Beika Hotel. The FBI already had agents stationed in Tokyo at the time, and they quickly got wind of this so their headquarters demanded access to this case. That was about two hours ago. Now, the ICPO knows about it and wants to get involved. What makes this worse is that everything we will do will have to be kept secret from the public for a while because of pressure from the hotel and the Tourism department. We are standing in a political minefield"

"Ok… what makes this murder different from the others Inspector? Why all the involvement? Why all the hush?" asked an even more confused yet intrigued Yumi.

"That… is because of the message found at the scene: Foreigners shall die… Not to mention the way the girl was killed. She was probably raped and then killed in the style of England's Jack the Ripper murders." was the harsh revelation from the Head Inspector. "The whole crime scene was covered in blood."

The tired officer could only stare at the Inspector and whisper "No…" She had heard, seen, and even handled other horrendous murders, but this one was a nightmare. It seemed to be straight out of a horror novel, what kind of monster would do this? She thought that her people, the Japanese people were beings of honor. What aspect of this was honorable? What kind of person could even live with the fact that he had caused so much pain?

"This… this is bad…" was all the poor officer could say as her posture slouched.

"You can say that again." Surprisingly, the young, jovial, and clumsy officer Tagaki was the one to say this. "Even though this was not a "Closed room Murder", not much sound was heard by everyone else. Not to mention, there were at least 3 different entrances and exits that seem to have been used during the murder. And the timing, anyone could have done it. The whole hotel is in lockdown right now. I wish Conan and his friends could be here to help us, but they can't because of the… level of maturity needed in this case"

Shocked by this astute observation, Inspector Megure realized that yet another inconvenience in this case. "You're right, Takagi-san, not to mention Mouri-san is currently out… and the two high school detectives Hattori-san and Kudo-kun are not in town… Even though that they aren't always needed, more eyes and minds working together help, and those mystery-crazed detectives always find the most obscure yet crucial things that aid us… I remember Mouri-san back in our police days…"

As he reminisced, the inspector came to a conclusion. "We need a new detective… Someone mature, someone cool in the line of fire .. someone… someone.."

"Someone that's a girl!" was a statement that the three men heard in stereo. Annoyed by the small presence of women in law enforcement, Yumi, and surprisingly the cool and quirky Sato, voiced the same opinion.

This prompted an uncomfortable silence and a round of hearty laughter.

"Oh well… Officers, get some coffee. We're going to the hotel right soon. It will be a long night." The Inspector said, face hardening at the case, reminding him of his own case long ago, the one where he met his wife… He could not stand women being hurt like that; his scar was a constant reminder of how close to dying Midori was. Now this case, a case filled with terror, had come up. But could he stay together? Last time he almost lost control… This time, he will catch the culprit while remaining in control of the situation.

No one else needed to get hurt.

Not again.

...(BeikaCentralShoppingCenter, DayAfterTheMurder)...

Stores whizzed past the female duo as they quickly traveled through Beika Central Shopping Center. Confused by the pace in which they were going, Sofie barely had time Nabiki walked through the mall completely passing the stores Sofie thought she would go to.

The items that were bought were another mystery that Sofie just could not understand. Why were they buying wigs, otaku-style shirts, seemingly random books, tons of makeup, disposable cameras, sunglasses, and random aerosol cans?

"You'll need it" was all Nabiki said to the confused girl when asked.

Only until they stopped at the food court for a light lunch did the detective finally satisfy her client's curiosity.

"-I bet you've been wondering what these things are, right?-" slyly asked the former Ice queen.

"-…yes… Of course I'm curious!-" was reply that responded to the question.

Accompanied by an (annoyingly) all-knowing smirk, yet another thing snowflake learned from her knight in Chinese "armor", Nabiki's slender hands began to take some of the various items that Sofie and herself purchased.

"-Well… here we have one of three different wigs. All are long and have colors ranging from brown to black.-" stated Japanese native, not soon before almost mockingly adding the words, "-that's hint number one.-"

The blank and lost look on her client's face was just the answer she needed. Yup, poor Sofie was (still) 100 percent CLUELESS!

"-Ok… let's look behind bag number two-" was the next thing out of Nabiki's mouth. "-and we have… (Gasp!) various novelty t-shirts and Japanese-looking clothes! By the way, that's hint number two-"

The ever worsening lost look on Sofie's face slightly dismayed Nabiki. Sofie isn't one of those "stupid girls", is she?

The words "-…please, you CAN think… right?-" escaped the distraught detective's mouth.

"-HEY!-" exclaimed the affronted American. "-Don't bite the hand that feeds!-" as she said this, her left hand grabbed her right wrist and violently shook it as she brought it towards the detective's face, clearly parodying a bitten hand. Once Sofie calmed down, she stopped shaking her hands began to think again.

"-Its not like it's a… disguise?… OH! IT'S A DISGUISE!-" was the client's only response as realization (finally) dawned on her almond-shaped face.

Nabiki quickly "shushed" her client, trying to keep any more people from staring at them. Once she was satisfied that not too many people were spying on them, she continued her explanation.

"-Heh, I see you realize what these things are for, right?-" Nabiki said as she saw the thoughtful look on her client's face. "-Well, you're part right. All of these things are for your protection and safety. With the black wig, these plain clothes and soon to be bought coat, you won't stick out like a sore thumb because of your… for lack of better term, gajin features. This disguise will only be enhanced by your pretty much average height (for a Japanese woman). A soon-to-be-bought walkie-talkie will allow you to communicate with me. And you know how to use pepper spray, right?-"

"-Yeah, I know how to use pepper spray-" confirmed Sofie, thinking back to those self protection lectures her high school would give her long ago.

"-Good. Don't forget to read the book too!-" Nabiki reminded her client. "-You'll need the knowledge.-"

Sofie sighed and nodded her head, knowing that this would be for her own good.

"-Also… there is one more thing we have to do before we get you some more "Japanese" clothes and the other materials we need.-" Nabiki said, catching Sofie off guard.

"-And that is?-" Sofie asked cautiously, secretly wondering what the intelligent investigator was planning.

"-ICE CREAM!-" … well, it sure seemed that Nabiki's girlish side kicked in. But what girl can say that they don't like ice cream?

Of course, Sofie could not answer that rhetorical question that was only read by the readers of the fic. She couldn't have done it even if it was directed to her either. What is the reason, you ask?

Sofie, meet sweatdrop. Sweatdrop, meet Sofie. Now Sofie, the sweatdrop is the second Japanese cultural icon you will be introduced to. Just don't let it grow too big… oops too late. It seems that Sofie collapsed under the weight of her very first… and very huge, sweatdrop.

...(CoNtEmPlAtIoN on the DaY AfTeR the MuRdEr)...

13… a number that means so much. Lack of luck seems to stand out as the main thing among the possible meanings, and so does Triskaidekaphobia. Lack of luck and the Fear of the Number Thirteen, together, probably forever.

The number 13 was not lucky. And it should inspire fear. Especially today. On the thirteenth floor of the only major hotel that caters to tourists that has a thirteenth floor, something happened. At night, a girl was brutally raped and murdered by one twisted person who also left her body mutilated. Things did not look well for the Tokyo Police… The FBI agents got involved, and inspectors from the ICPO were being flown in as .

And that was out of country… in Japan itself, the chiefs of all the police divisions and the most trusted officers from the elite teams were all congregating at Division one's headquarters. The news just came, the demon investigator, Heizo Hattatori, had just arrived in Tokyo and was on the way to Beika. A grim note in an even grimmer investigation.

It seemed that Japan was caught in between a rock and a knife-wielding psychopath. The rest of the world didn't know about the heinous crime, but the all the inspectors did. And it took its toll on their conscience.

Yet the ones truly caught in the middle of this mass of law enforcement was Division Two, more specifically, the Division Two Inspectors and Division Two's "Elite-team". With international influences watching their every step, along with the boss under extreme stress, Inspectors Megure, Takagi, Sato, and "Elite-team" Shiratori were not happy to have this extra stress on top of the stress from the case. And Officer Miyamoto could easily tell that.

Even though she was in the Traffic-Control subdivision of Division Two, Yumi Miyamoto, the prankster of the police, had many friends that worked under Chief of Inspectors Megure. The most notable of which were the two in her "pet-project", her dear friends Minwako and Wataru, the couple that everyone wanted to break up. She hoped that their relationship could survive through what was coming.

But that was all she could do, hope. Other than offering a shoulder to cry on, and a person to talk to, she could not help her friends. And she knew it. It was too painful to see them go through this… Wataru and Minwako had just pulled an all-nighter. Today was the day after the murder. The day of investigation. The day of reasoning. The day to say "I don't know, there's not enough evidence". They needed help. Even with the best of the best there, they needed something.

Yumi could only sigh and wait as the day crept by ever so slowly. Half-heartedly directing traffic, her mind went back… back to what happened after the inspecting team went off to Beika hotel…

...(FLASH(NiGhToftheMuRdEr, PoLiCeStAtIoN)BACK)...

"Sorry Miyamoto-san, but you can't come with us," was Megure's last words as he climbed out of the policecar.

Yumi had begged the Chief inspector to stay as long as she could with the inspection team, fearing for the worst for her friends. She went as far as to become the chauffeur of the inspection team. Soon, the Megure, Sato, and Takagi were all in her car as she drove through the sleet that was falling to the ground with Shiratori right behind them.

Now, as the rest of the inspectors climbed out of their cars and got to work, Yumi turned to her best friend in the force, Minwako Sato, who was still lingering behind.

"Minwako-san, today… will probably change your life. Be careful in there. You are going against one twisted person." Was the warning that Yumi managed to relay to her friend. She didn't want Sato to get hurt in any way. But she knew, that was a fool's dream.

"Yumi-chan… I promise I will be careful." Sato's resolve was quite evident in her voice. "This is the reason why I became a police officer. This is why I pursued Jinpei's killer so passionately. This is… my time. Though… I am more afraid of what will happen to Wataru-kun…"

The prankster policewoman instantly transformed at the last words that came out of Sato's mouth. "So he's "kun" now, eh?" was her remark, said with a predatory smirk…

"OH! No! Nothing of that sort!" By now Sato's face was as crimson as the sun on the Japanese national flag, not to mention that she was wildly gesticulating with her hands trying to deter Yumi's astute accusation.

"Don't deny it, Minwako-chan! I know you like him… just be careful so he doesn't have to feel the pain of losing you…"

"Alright Miyamoto-san. It's time to go back to work." And with that, the flustered Minwako Sato once again became Officer Sato, Inspector of the Second Division of the Tokyo police.

Yumi could only watch as her friend gently closed the door and rushed off to the hotel. That day, she realized something. Sato was afraid to be hurt and to hurt others, so she acted so cool and detached. But inside, Sato was yearning for the one person to cheer her up and spend time with her. Of course, Sato didn't realize that because she acted so cool and detached, all the men that she didn't like took interest in her.

At least Minwako has Takagi, the most loyal and generous officer of the force, even if he acts like a rookie sometimes.

Turning her car around, she drove back to the police station, mind no longer on the murder, but back onto the boy she picked up earlier… Her little Enigma… Meiji.

As she pulled into the police station, she saw Meiji being loaded up into an ambulance. She quickly got out and ran over to the medic that was still sliding the gurney into the vehicle.

"Hey! What's wrong with the kid? Meiji was fine when I brought him here!" Yumi cried out, filled with concern.

"Miss? You know this… Meiji?" The medic asked.

With genuine emotion shining in her eyes, Yumi began to explain. "Yeah! I was the one who brought him in, sure he was beaten up but…"

"Yes, his wounds are no more than just a nuisance. But he is also suffering from Rickets, a vitamin D deficiency; a Vitamin K deficiency; and a phosphorus deficiency also. This could mean that he was indoors and/or had a bad diet for quite a while… we probably have to put him on intravenous nutrition" said the medic. " But luckily, he's still growing and the defiencencies are not that serious, but he has to have a good diet for a while after he's released from the hospital. He's a ward of the state isn't he?"

"Yes…" answered Officer Miyamoto.

"Then he needs a good foster home…" sadly replied the medic.

"No. I'll take him in for a while." Was Yumi's firm statement. "He'll be my little Meiji-outoto."

"Alright… Do you know his last name?" was the medic's one last question.

"No…" Suddenly, a thought struck Yumi, so she quickly added, "But put down Eniguma for now…"

With a curt nod, the medic signaled to the ambulance driver to get ready to go.

As she watched the ambulance drive away, she had only one last comment.

"Heh… For now, you really are… My little Enigma"

...(END FLASHBACK) (it is now the afternoon after the murder)...

An ambulance's siren deftly snapped Officer Miyamoto out of her reminiscing over last night's events. She quickly cleared the way so that the ambulance could get to Beika General Hospital. Luckily (so she thought) it did not from the direction in which Beika Hotel was, indicating that her friends were safe (for now).

But the ambulance brought her back… when she called Minwako earlier, Yumi learned some quite frightening news.

Takagi, a modern day Shinji, stepped up and reprimanded a superior! The head of the Elite Team, Officer Shiratori! As she began to recall the story, somewhere another young woman began to tell of that time…

...(OfficeOfTendoNabiki, AFTERNOONafterTHEmurder)...

Nabiki, serious as never before, looked straight across the table and into Sofie's saddened eyes.

"-I think… that playtime is over. It is time for you to tell me the whole story. As complete as possible, please-" the detective asked her client, all while unconsciously using NGE: Gendo's evil stance v1.5™.

"-You are lucky I have photographic memory, Detective Tendo-", and with those words out of the way, Sofie began her recollection.

"-It was… not so long ago, yet it feels years has passed since, but it still feels like it just occurred; like a pain you get used to but never fades, it is eternally the same. So old… yet so fresh… you ask me an impossible task, at least that is what my heart believes. But no, my mind knows the truth. And it will speak…

…oO(Dual Flashback, Sofie's version)Oo…

It was 10 o'clock. The weather outside was nothing too strange. Cloudy skies weren't rare in the Beika prefecture of Tokyo.

Sofie, in her translucent blue night-gown was snuggled against a stuffed kitten in her bed, oblivious to the crime going on only a few doors away from her own room…

"-mmm… shoot…-" it seems that late at night, the blond haired woman woke up. "-I really shouldn't have eaten so much sushi…-"

As she went to the restroom (or "otearai" in nihongo), she decided to check on her friend who was occupying the room next to her, which was a double room of course.

After she came out of the restroom and put on a sky blue silken robe, she walked over and called her friend's cell phone to see if she was awake.

Yet it went straight to voicemail.

It never went straight to voicemail, because that would mean that the phone was off.

Rachel never turned her phone off.

Never. It was too important to her work as a model, and to her personal life too.

That meant… that something happened. Something happened to Rachel.

This was not good.

She quickly ran over to the door that separated their rooms and opened it…

To only reveal a cross between her worst nightmare and her greatest fears.

Rachel… was most definitely dead.

Because all was left of her was neatly stacked piles of flesh and organs, and a relatively untouched face.

Someone mutilated the model's body. After killing her. And probably raping her.

A dark fluid was splattered across the walls, furniture, and floor. On the wall above the headboard, the very same fluid was used to write an intimidating message in characters that the only alive being in the room could not read.

The scene brought three words to mind.

Jack

The

Ripper.

Making a minor recovery from the shock, she screamed.

No, screamed isn't right. She cried out in terror.

No, that's not right either.

No, she woke the dead.

At least the ones that were not in the same room as her.

Running out from that room, she dialed three numbers that would change her life forever.

1…1…0

As she clutched the phone tightly, she could hear people waking up and complaining.

She would explain later. Sofie knew that she needed to call who she was calling first.

"Bonsowa-ru, Tokyo police dispatch, how can I help you?"

Remembering her Japanese, she began to explain…

…oO(Dual Flashback, Duality, approx One hour later, Minwako's story starts here)Oo…

"-And, this you did?-" was what Chief Inspector Megure, while clearly struggling with his English, asked a beautiful, yet (to put it lightly) distraught American woman.

"Hai, I… I… can speak…a little Japanese…too… but… this is when I … called … security …guardian" Sofie replied, knowing that it would be better for her to struggle with the words a little, as she could barely understand what the inspector was saying.

"OH! All right, great! Then I can investigate! Officer Sato, take over the questioning!" Said Megure, eager to finish this investigation as soon as possible.

Quickly walking over to the blond haired model, Officer Minwako Sato looked into Sofie's hazel eyes and continued the questioning.

Meanwhile, Takagi was taking photos and notes of the crime scene, and as he was doing that, he became more and more confused.

It looked like a murder and a rape, and it sure seemed like it, but… there was… no struggle at all! How?

And there seemed to be PLANTED evidence… one moment it seemed pre-meditated, yet some other aspects made it seem "spur of the moment". This case was confusing… at best. With his gloved hands, he meticulously looked for something that was out of place. Yet as he worked, one comment in his mental rant escaped from his head. "I wish one of those hot-shot high-school detectives were here!"

Meanwhile, Sato finished up the questioning and Sofie was free to go. Minwako secretly watched the young woman as she slowly deviated from the path to her room and approached officer Shiratori. What she then asked shocked all of the officers present into silence and stillness.

"What… what those characters mean?" she said, with her voice strangely melodic, pointing at the message in blood above the headboard. She did not expect it to be anything good… but…

"You really are a Gajin aren't you?" were the words from Officer Shiratori's mouth, "It says 'Foreigners beware'. Good luck on surviving."

Shocked by the way officer Shiratori phrased it Sofie robotically retired to her room.

…(Sofie's flashback ends here)…

"Idiot men" was Nabiki's only comment as she saw Sofie break down again… but the detective knew that the model needed this. After all, crying is one of the best ways to get something off your chest.

…oO(Dual flashback, Yumi's recollection of Minwako's explanation)Oo…

Stunned by the casual disregard of feeling Mr. Elite-team had, everyone seemed to be petrified. Until one man rose up.

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?" Takagi, the wimp, the clumsy fool, the rookie, it was him who stood up to the leader of the elite team. "She found her friend dead! Killed… in such an odious way! Do you even have a heart? She's hurting!"

Affronted by this outburst, Shiratori tried to defend his actions. "I was tired, and I only spoke my opinion! Stand down Takagi-san!"

Takagi, barely containing his rage, got up and walked toward the front door of the room. "I'm going out for a while to cool down. I don't want to be punished for hitting a superior"

With that, Takagi walked out with the finesse of an angry demon, yet emanated an aura of a righteous angel.

Shiratori, pig-headed as he was, refused to say he was wrong. "I can still get you for threatening me!" he shouted at Takagi's receding back.

To his surprise, the object of his obsessions stood up. Minwako Sato no longer was leaning on the wall. No. She was standing and walking towards Mr. "elite-team".

But something was wrong with this picture… oh yeah… She was giving off Killer Intent.

"Shiratori…" she said with a sickening sweet voice. "Takagi might be afraid to hit a superior…"

**SLAP**

"BUT I SURE AM NOT!"

With those last words said, Officer Minwako Sato followed the man that wormed his way into her heart.

Looks like Yumi's plan is succeeding!

…(Dual flashback end, Yumi's location)…

Ah… Minwako now respected Takagi so much more… too bad that was the moment Yumi started teasing her and then Sato got too embarrassed and hung up. It looks like Yumi would never be able to find out what happened later!

But no worriesm, finally off duty, Yumi decided to pick up a nice dessert and head over to the hospital to check on her little enigma.

Funny… she could swear Meiji looked a bit familiar… oh well. Might as well buy some of that HI-milk chocolate he likes.

Hmmm… he never said he liked HI-Milk specifically, so why is Yumi's mind constantly linking "Meiji" with "HI-Milk"?

* * *

Notes: Well… 110 is "police" in Japan. Hai means yes. Nihongo means Japanese. A double room is two hotel rooms connected with a door, great for big families. I use "dual flashbacks" meaning that two people are recalling relatively the same thing. "Duality" is basically where the memory overlaps for the two reminiscing people.

Also, if you noticed, I have edited/rewritten the first chapter. I was able to do that becasue of all of the reviews telling where I should improve the fic. The more you tell me to improve, the better of a writer i can be! So please, be as harsh as you want!

These names are for refrence and are in "Firstname, Lastname" order. I only use the japanese names...

"original" characters:

Sofie Lauria  
Meiji Eniguma

Names of Not "original" characters:

Yumi Miyamoto  
Minwako Sato  
Wataru Takagi  
Iuzo Megure  
Ninzaburo Shiratori


	3. Japan the Ripper pt 3

WARNING! SPOILER!

AN: … ok, those people who think Meiji is a witness… totally off track. Sorry, but "Look underneath the underneath". Meiji is clearly a "street rat", heck, he can't even eat well. It would be impossible for him to be in the vicinity of the murder at that time. Also, in the previous chapter, since Yumi was patrolling near abandoned warehouses, it was located at an area away from the hotel, as Tokyo follows a Multiple-Nuclei City model.

Sil: Here's a hint. Nabiki is not the only reason this fic is in the Ranma section…

Acte: Sil… please, you are GIVING AWAY THE PLOT!

SPOILER FINISHED

Acte: anyway, a great resource to tie in names with faces is a link on my profile, Conan.wagnergrp… home of KnightiusMaximus's Conan scans… click on 500th episode commemoration to see all of the characters with profiles! We've also changed the chapter format to be more like the Anime! Detective Manipulation now comes with DM Hints and Introductions!

Sil: To any reader who likes Meiji. Be warned. You will not see too much of him in this story… maybe just a little more than you will see conan. Why?

Acte: We are splitting this fic into two "books" one will follow Nabiki throughout her newfound career, while the other will follow Yumi's story with Meiji, the soon to come in-progress The Enigma of Specification: the story of Meiji Eniguma, which will be in the DC/CC section.

Sil: this chapter gave Acte nightmares for days because of what he had to plan out. Prepare for a crime filled with debauchery, twists and turns, ingenious solutions, and someone's final goodbye.

Detective Manipulation, case One: Japan the Ripper, file Three: Ripped Dreams

"Talking", 'internal thoughts/side comments' (not used yet), "-English-", _song lyrics,_ "/Telecommunications, radio\"

Case/file Soundtrack: "My Immortal" by Evanescence, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, "Suffocate" by Cold, "Hero" by nickelback, "Clouds" by Sil.  
--------------------------

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, and I wish I could claim that I never thought up this crime. From the darkness of my mind, to the pristine white pages of this story, I wish for everyone to know that WE CAN stop crime ore at least slow it down in the real world. You can help. Do what you can for the local law enforcement. And stay safe. The world can never have too many detectives.

--------------------------

INTRO:

It's the middle of the investigation of this horrible crime. New revelations, whether expected, within norms, or totally shocking will make their entrances in this chapter. What could be find out today? Don't know? Keep reading!

Opening from the Case Closed soundtrack: Giri Giri Chop by B'z

Detective manipulation, chapter three. Case one, file three.

…oO(MeGuRe'S office)Oo…

Chief inspector Megure was quite nervous. While FBI and Interpol agents were being flown in and briefed, there were more pressing matters at hand. His counterpart in Osaka, the legendary Devil Inspector Heizo Hattatori was here, in front of him. And they were discussing the evidence. Now, it is alright to be nervous if a superior counterpart was talking to you, but knowing Heizo's style, it was bad. He never talked about his plans with anyone else.

"I admit. I too am confused… the evidence is conflicting. This tells me that if we ever decide to persecute, the planted evidence might confuse the jury and let the culprit free. It's amazing. We are dealing with someone that will murder again… if the threat is accurate" Those words immediately shocked Megure. The Devil Inspector… admitting defeat.

Heizo Hattatori was not like other inspectors. He did not worry too much about catching suspects and criminals, but about making sure that they were in jail. If he caught a criminal and then the criminal walked free, Heizo knew that he would never respect himself ever again.

He was the Devil Detective for a reason. Hattatori knew the waiting game. Heiji got into one of his long running cases once, well twice. The Knife-Wallet-Heart serial murders and the Treasure Seeking Gang… both of which he solved or helped solve. He could wait. He just wanted to make sure whoever he puts away, never comes out.

"INSPECTOR MEGURE!" Yelled out Takagi, interrupting the thoughts of his superiors. Immediately Megure and Hattatori thought that more inspectors arrived, or worse, FBI and Interpol.

But all of the worries were dispelled as they turned to face the officer and found Officer Sato running right behind him while waving her notepad and shouting, "WE HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH!"

"What?!" said the two Division leaders, shocked by the good news. They never thought there would be a way to narrow the list of suspects, which was currently… well, everyone!

Full of excitement, Sato continued, "Yes, we have discovered that the only ones who could have murdered Jacobs Rachel-san… was one of the people that inhabited the 13th floor."

"Excellent work, Sato! But what evidence you have of that?" said Megure, pleased that his team found this out first, and even more so that Sato, who was like his surrogate daughter, figured it out.

"Well… I had my suspicions, but Takagi did most of the work. I just found it strange that there was no signs of entry from the outside, in fact, we already have proof that the murder occurred when it was raining, and there were no wet footprints or marks from water near that balcony door. If the balcony door was used as a exit, then the blood around it would have been more moist than anywhere else from the rain, and there would be traces of blood on the balcony." Reasoned Sato.

Takagi, sensing that it was his turn to speak, began explaining his analysis. "Not only that, the proof we have of the victim being murdered after it started raining comes from the structure of the hotel. This was one of the first hotels to be built in Tokyo, as you can tell from the "Punch-Card" locks and the use of surveillance cameras only in the stairwells, elevators, and entrances to the said mechanisms of transport. This saved time, money, and resources when building the Hotel."

Not seeing the relevance, an irritated Heizo Hattatori gave the duo with a budding relationship a trademark "Devil's Glare".

"And this is relevant… HOW?" he said sarcastically.

Takagi, losing his composure, began to stutter until Sato took over. "This means that we have the time of entrance of the victim, and the visual confirmation that only the inhabitants of the Thirteenth floor was on the thirteenth floor that night. We also know that the housecleaning staff starts rounds at 10:00 AM and leave once they are finished… Add that to the fact that we know that the murderer did not come from outside, it means that…"

"The murderer is one of the thirteenth floor!" That declaration was all in unison. The inspectors now had a lead. And now… they must follow it.

"There is also visual confirmation that every single person on the floor left today… and there are 4 men who left with suspicious bags/luggage today." continued Sato. "and 3 women also with suspicious bags/luggage"

"Disregard the women, it's the men that's suspect, it was a rape after all, right?" interjected the inspector. "

"But what I don't get is how the locks were tricked… there is no evidence of tampering …" said Takagi. "And if we can't link the suspect to opening the door, we can't say he was there…"

"And then that bastard would get free, right?" muttered the Devil inspector. "We have to put the man in the room at the time of the murder! If not, we may never be able to see justice!"

With this ominous thought in their heads, the policemen were at a standstill. What could they do? They needed something more… some help.

And lo and behold, a voice rose above the despair.

"I may be able to help you there"

It was Mr. Elite-Team himself.

Startled by the sudden declaration and the derailment of her thoughts, Officer Sato did what any sensible woman would do when surprised. She got ready to slap the person who frightened her.

"Now Sato… Don't go slapping me again… my cheek is still a bit numb from your earlier one." Joked Shiratori, causing Minwako to blush. "I checked out all the locks and none of them were tampered with… but I did realize something."

"What did you realize?" asked an intrigued Hattatori.

"That the code to the punch card is in binary… there are twelve different dots, each one representing one digit in binary. But the main thing is, the code for the door is the door number in physical binary which means that it is very easy to crack… all you need is a strong plastic card, like a credit card, laminated ID, or even stiff cardstock." revealed the Officer. "Especially since that this is a popular hotel, if one visits it long enough, they will have enough information about they key cards to crack the code"

Making sure that this was tangible evidence in court, the Devil Detective pressed further. "And what if the suspect does not know binary?"

Shiratori only smirked before his reply. "Easy. All he needed to do is trace out his own key card onto a piece of paper, then modify it dot by dot. It might take many tries, but it will make it. The most number of differences there can be between two rooms on the same floor is… 7 dots. That means there are AT MOST 128 different combinations…"

"That is a lot of combinations!" an shocked Megure shouted. "That surely will not hold up in court!"

With his smirk only growing wider, Shiratori continued his explanation. "Then you can exploit the age of the locks. At resting position, the tumblers in the lock rest against the bottom of the lock, which is just a metal block. Through repeated use, dents start to form, and the duller the tumbler gets. The more the lock is used, the deeper the dents and duller the tumblers are… but the thing is, the dents are caused by when the tumbler is raised by the card and then dropped into a hole in the card, hence, the "Punch-card" type of key cards. Because plastic key cards are used, the tumblers that are not used as much do not get much duller. The tumblers that impact the metal the most are the ones with a corresponding hole in the key"

As he looked around, he saw that the rest of the officers still didn't get it, so he began to elaborate.

"This means, if you construct two thin fake key cards that has all twelve holes punched out on both of them, then put a piece of paper in between them, the smaller the hole made on the paper means the sharper the point and smaller the dent. The bigger the hole… the bigger chance that it is a part of the combination of the key card."

Gasping in realization, all the officers were thinking one question, but Takagi beat the rest of them to it in asking it. "Does this really work?"

"Yes" was Mr. Elite-team's affirmation. "I just succeeded in re-creating the effect in the victim's room, and while I did it, I found some weird shavings on the ground near the door. They were a magnetic material coated with plastic. Testing showed that the origin was a credit card."

Stunned by this foreboding revelation, all of the inspector's faces turned grim. Looking at each other, their determination to stop this travesty was clearly visible.

Understanding what this meant, the ever-calm Sato concluded, "This means… that the murderer has the full capacity of doing what he threatens… more… can follow if we don't catch him now."

May whatever deity this monster of a murderer believes in help his revolting soul.

-------------------

Meiji… was not having fun. He was in a hospital bed, with an IV stuck into his veins.

He HATED hospitals. Being in one meant something bad happened to you or someone you knew. Being in the hospital bed meant that you were weakened at that moment.

Meiji HATED being weak. It reminded him of the Cat-fist.

Oh… yeah… did I mention Meiji… is Ranma?

Hmm… No? Then let's turn back time… about three years… and a day.

----(Nermia-Beika prefecture border, about 3 years ago)----

"Hmmm… is this the kid?" said dark figure one.

"Ja… Pisco's research says that she might be… a problem in the future." Female… but with a grating voice. Who was it?

"I thought the kid was supposed to be a boy! I don't know how this girl cross-dresses with a figure like that! Hmm… her stature and figure are so much like mine… yes… a new disguise…" soft, soothing voice. Female. "But if we kill her now… the image in my head may be ruined…" Ranma could nearly HEAR the pout in that woman's voice…

"Hehehehehe… then hold off on the finishing shot, let's use her as a test subject…" Dark figure one. "She's going to die anyway… she has lost too much blood…"

"Yes… this will be a perfect opportunity…" smooth voice, male, reeks of cigarettes. "let's see what the little scarlet woman has made…"

"You trust HER work so much eh?" The female with the soothing voice again… "So I've truly lost to Sherry…"

"Stop." Dark figure one. "We are in a too open space. Sound carries easily… for safety, no names."

Heh… so… they wanted to kill him now eh? Too bad… Ranma knew what happened. These men… and women… had guns. Guns and martial artists don't mix. He didn't notice until it was too late. By that time, his right arm had been disabled, and both his legs were impaired. Then the sadists shot his body… Luckily, he was able to secretly "deflect" the bullets enough to cause bleeding, but miss the intended, and very vital, targets.

He knew why he was being referred to as a girl… as he was in his girl form. Suddenly, he felt the two men hoist him up, and felt long, slender, feminine fingers gently force his jaw open…

"-Sweet dreams, Red Princess-" With those final words in English, the female with the soothing voice placed a pill into Ranma's mouth.

Nothing happened.

Then he felt his Ki go haywire.

His Ki pathways began scrambling, reversing his years of hard training. He could feel his own Ki turn against himself… He was going to die… and he knew it… Wait… He could still manipulate the Ki!

As the world went black around him, Ranma's consciousness reverted into his Ki core and began making the haywire Ki cancel each other out.

To the world, Ranma was dead. No heartbeat. No breathing. But the truth was, he was in suspended animation. He saved his own life.

And his ears were still working.

The words and sounds soon told him what was happening…

"What do we do with the kid now?" dark figure number one.

"If we leave him here, they might trace the chemicals from the APTX4689 back to the pharmaceutical company we were using as a front… hmm…" The smoker, he seems to be the leader. "Ah yes… my little scarlet woman once told me the secret to the drug's quickness is that it's water soluble"

"So… if we dump him into the river the APTX traces will be washed out of him?" Grating female. "Barbados! Transport us to the nearest body of water!"

He felt himself (well.. herself) being loaded onto a car… though gently as the "Soothing female" wanted the body to be in perfect shape the last time she saw it… so that her "Idea" would not be ruined.

They finally arrived at the body of water. It seems that the "Soothing female" was taking pictures.

"Meh… do you want us to just rip off her clothes for you to see everything?" said dark figure number one.

"MEN! Do you not realize that you said that in front of a woman? Hmmph. I do not wish to know anymore… as now my imagination can fly. You may dump her now." Soothing female sounded so much like Akane just then...

'Akane… I'm sorry I will never be able to see you again…'

Two pairs of hands hoisted Ranma's girl form up and over the railing and into the water.

His last thought was:

'And some say I had the perfect life…'

-----(End flashback)----

Ranma never forgot that day… and because of it, he was like this. Sadly, he didn't change his will…

Yes, he had a will. He knew that the Nermian chaos would have killed a lesser man, and always grew. Soon… he might have not survived it.

What he wrote in his will was peculiar…

He gave any possession to whom he got it from, and some other materials to be taken care of by Happosai. Any money was to be given to the Tendo family as a "Thank you".

Money… should not be an issue. What he now had was enough for the Tendo's to live on for at least a month WITH the Saotome's huge costs. A small reprise in a sea of disappointment.

Some would ask why Happosai was chosen to have the sensitive material. Ranma's logic was not questionable when you looked at it, after all, who stole Amazon treasures so long ago… and who still had it in his possession?

But most others would ask why does he play this game? Why did he make everyone think he was dead?

He knew that question would be the question everyone asked if they knew he was Ranma.

And so he remembered the day he decided… that Ranma Saotome was dead.

-----(Back… to the Flash-ture!)----

He woke up on the rocky shore of a abandoned factory's (illegal) waste disposal area. Luckily, no bodily harm came out of his unconscious trip down the river and onto the rocks. Noting that his body was still female, he begun to look for something to help him to turn back to his rightful form.

With his Ki flows still a bit erratic, he had to find a shelter…

Looking at the decrepit factory, Ranma saw something promising. Well… he saw through something.

He saw a furnace through a window of the factory, so he quickly took one of the rocks on the shore and threw it at the window. Part of the window shattered, but not all. The martial artist persisted and threw more stones to widen the hole. Seeing his chance, he started to climb into the window, only to see all the glass shards he caused…

Aha! Another idea! Ranma saw some of the larger stones began piling them up against the wall to make a rock "staircase" and then took off his waterlogged shirt.

He climbed onto the "staircase" and used his shirt to clear off the window sill. He then got onto the windowsill and then climbed in.

To his surprise, it seemed that Karma wanted to give him a break. Cardboard boxes and paper, perfect for burning were to his left, along with wooden pallets that could be burned once he broke them to pieces. To his front, metal kettles, pots, and pans, no worse for wear. Behind the metal cookware, there was a glass blowing station.

It seemed this factory made cookware, metal, ceramic, and glass. He could change forms whenever he wanted.

Noticing the office, he went into it and was once again surprised. Instant Ramen, instant tea, and instant cereal awaited him. He had food.

The electricity was cut off, but an emergency hand-cranked generator was found, along with a battery. He could live here… for a while. The chairs would not be easy to sleep in… but he could survive.

Running back to the shore for some water to boil, he began to prepare for his stay. And ponder on what he shall do.

-------------(some time later, as night fell and the water boiled)----------

Ranma stared into the flame that was boiling his water. He tried pouring the water on himself as it heated, but he wouldn't change back. Makes sense that the poison would do this… Magic never liked science after all.

Looking apprehensively at the now-bubbling pot of water, the aqua-transsexual steeled himself for the pain pouring boiling hot water would cause.

Ironically, it didn't hurt. As it the water hit him, he felt himself shift and the water was repelled an instant after it hit him.

It seemed that the water magnet part of his curse just got a bit… twisted. Not only that, it was harder to change back…

And why did he seem… so small?

To his amazement, he found that he was small… too small. He had reverted back to the time before the Neko-Ken! His scars that reminded him of that horrible day were gone…

He realized that this toxin had screwed with the magic and martial arts techniques that he had…

In a rare moment of insight, Ranma realized that if he ever went back to Nermia, the rest of the Nermians would be in trouble. Guns trumped martial arts nine times out of ten, and this new poison was water soluble… that meant that it could be slipped into almost anything! Not to mention what it did to the curse… who knows the extent of damage it could cause.

Then he remembered how close he came to dieing, how the poison turned his ki against himself… he figured that he would be condemning the rest of the NWC to death or worse if he went back…

It wasn't worth it… the few days he would go back and live his life again would be the few days those stupid hit-men were going to prepare a massacre of Nermia. He was prepared to give up his life for the ones he held dear…

He knew that from that day on, he would be a living ghost.

And he prepared to survive.

After all, what else can a man do once he was dead?

-------(back to future…)------

Ranma, lying on the bed, looked at the fluid dripping into his arm from the IV. He counted each drop, pretending that each drop symbolized one day since that day.

He wasn't even half way there, so it felt. It had been so long, nothing was the same anymore.

His head devoid of the trademark pigtail (as it caused… a few incidents) Ranma's new hairstyle was simple. Short cropped hair akin to Akane's, but a little more masculine, was the most appropriate way to describe the black locks of hair.

Ranma was glad that he kept up his martial arts. His ki based attacks were now "in commission", even though they were barely considered "powerful". The only major technique that was not reduced to a pitiful shadow of itself was the Soul of Ice, which ironically became ever stronger.

Why? The screwed up curse, of course! He learned that he truly was a water "magnet". He could now attract and repel water sort of at will, and it seemed that anything based on an allotrope of water (like the shark fist) became strengthened.

That also meant that the curse was "stronger". To activate it, Ranma needed to be hit with freezing water. To turn back to himself, boiling water was what was needed. Luckily, he could repel the water before too much damage was done, but this did leave some interesting situations at hand…

One of the major reasons was that his "girl form" was now his "teenage form". Whereas his male side became younger by quite a few years, his female form changed to that of a small thirteen year old girl… yet the female form was still one and a half times as large as his male!

Luckily, Ranma found that he could turn the freezing water into ice before it hit him and turned him into a girl… but that was tiresome as his ki pathways still were not fully healed and redeveloped yet.

Catching the sound of footsteps with his acute hearing, the martial artist began to lay at ease, and put his "Meiji" disguise on again.

As he started to feign sleep, his eyes caught something on his wrist-band name-tag…

Eniguma, Meiji.

Hmm… strange…

Since when did he have a last name?

--------o( with Nabiki and Sofie )o--------

"-so… how do I look?-"

Nabiki appraised the girl in front of her: straight black locks of hair, slightly flaring out at the ends; green-blue eyes, filled with mystique; creamy white skin with light makeup; and a simple ensemble of jeans and an anime T-shirt all came together to make…

One hell of a culture clash. And Nabiki was not afraid to say what men never dared in the face of that question.

"-umm… just because I'm a girl… I'm going to be truthful. You ain't gonna be fooling any one soon, sista!-" Nabiki said with a smile. "-All you look like is a black haired tourist…"

Thinking it over for a moment, Nabiki thought what else she could do to improve the disguise, and quickly experimented with different styles and combinations of clothes.

"-Oh well. The culprit wouldn't recognize you anymore, so you are safer in that regard… we should go to a professional in order to truly make you seem like a native.-" she reluctantly said after a few more experiments.

"-Ok… at least now I feel a little bit safer…-" deadpanned Sofie.

Totally missing the sarcasm, whether intentionally or not, Nabiki's reply made Sofie turn into stone…

"Hmm… Alright Sofie, whatever you say. Time to go test out the pepper spray we bought and to see if you can learn some martial arts!"

Sofie… meet your third Japanese cultural item. Turning into stone…

Wow… you seem to be good at this…

Just remember to turn back before you **–**CRACK- um… crack… Owies… that has got to hurt!

--------(beika central hospital)-------

Hmmm… its been so long since the doctor's visit. It seems like he had vitamin deficiencies… feh. Beggars can't be choosers. He took whatever he was allowed to take. Ever since "Ranma Saotome" disappeared, he was once again living like he did on the trip. Harsh nights followed by Harsher days. He was lucky to find shelter in the old Koni cookware factory. The inner rooms did not get too cold during the winter, and some old coats and emergency blankets were left behind.

As Ranma lay there, he was reminded of his new "Nee-chan", it seemed that she knew how boring it was in hospitals, so she left a portable radio in his room for him. It was currently off because he didn't want to listen to the commercials of "Lip enlarger EXTREME" and "Face thinner Version 4.5!"(1). Deciding that he was officially bored enough to listen to the commercials of such rubbish items, he turned it back on.

"/Konnichiwa Nippon! (good afternoon Japan!) It is currently 3:07 and we are two songs into our "Commercial-free" hour! You have just heard "Bloody Venus" by Lex, their lead singer died a while ago, but it still remains popular. Two-Mix's new song is coming up soon, it was written in dedication to the Shonen Tentai! (detective boys). But now, a song from Sil, a budding artist. Here's "Cloud"!\"

'Hm?' thought Ranma 'Cloud… maybe I should of named my self that… I was like a cloud, a fluffy white cloud that was blown by the winds. Even though I was capable of creating great thunderbolts and winds myself, I was powerless against the winds that my father, the Tendos, the Amazons, and the rest of the NWC controlled. I seemed so strong to survive the quadruple onslaught, but in the end, I was the weakest… I was the one being blown around.'

_One white cloud, in my mind,_

_One lonely dream-made cloud_

_Fills my thoughts as I look at the sky_

_While with my self I confide._

As he listened to the music, his mind drifted back to a time that he would always remember. A few weeks after the Jensudo incident…

….(mini-flashback).…

This was the third time that week he found himself laying on the roof, staring up at the stars, and asking questions he thought had been answered over and over again.

_Fly away, White cloud, Fly away_

_To where can you Fly?_

_Fly to the truth admits a sky of lies_

_Yet can the truth ever be found?_

'Where was the truth?' He asked himself as he stared at Polaris (the north star), he couldn't understand what he was feeling. Was it regret? Was it determination? Why did he feel so… strange inside? When he looked at Akane, he no longer felt that she was a friend, distant or… close, he saw her as a responsibility. After he saved her so many times, he had become used to being the one responsible for her, and his attraction to her decreased. Trapped… in-between Akane's budding affection toward him, and his own increasing feeling of responsibility for her… But he knew, the more he waited the worse it would become. To where could he go?

_All my emotions are kept within,_

_Like the raindrops inside a cloud_

_Where does one stop, Where does the other begin?_

_Are we separate or one?_

Something definitely changed within. He no longer was able to deny that he had changed. He could no longer acquiesce to much more. The feeling of responsibility within him… It felt so familiar now. It WAS him. It became him. It was a poison that he created for himself…

_Fly away, White cloud, Fly away_

_To where can you Fly?_

_Fly to the truth admits a sky of lies_

_Yet can the truth ever be found?_

He couldn't do this anymore… but he had to. He may never again find the answers to the question he asked, but he knew there was no place left for him to go. Everyone pushed and pulled on him, he was lost like a leaf in a gale…

_I lay down on a hill of grass,_

_With a Crystal tear in my eye._

_Thinking about my mess of a life,_

_I start to converse with myself._

From that day on, he promised himself that the person he would fall in love with must be not a hurricane, be not a gale, be not a gust, yet he also did not want a stationary cloud, a flimsy leaf, nor a pretty feather. He needed a zephyr, someone that would push, yet only gently. He needed someone that did not try to "guide" him or "push" him in the "right direction". He needed a dutiful and unwavering opposition, telling its own opinion while not forcing him to change his. A zephyr is every cloud's dream…

_Fly away, White cloud, Fly away_

_To where can you Fly?_

_Fly to the truth admits a sky of lies_

_Yet can the truth ever be found?_

'huh?' he thought as he looked to the east, the sun… it was beginning to rise. The clouds were no longer white or gray, but vivid violets, brilliant blues, rosy reds, and outstanding oranges. The clouds showed their true colors. They looked so much alike during day and night, but at dawn and dusk they could truly be themselves.

The dawn of Ranma Saotome has truly past… is it time for the dusk?

With that thought, the most dangerous, yet kindest, member of the Nermia Wrecking Crew roof-hopped to somewhere he never been before.

He heard stories of it, good and bad. He also knew it was the last place people would look for him in.

_When you do reach the ground,_

_I will be waiting to see the truth you found,_

_Maybe then we will see where we begin_

_Maybe then we will both have friends…_

But hey, it was the dawn of a new day, and he could be someone other than Mr. Martial Arts, at least he hoped.

With light steps, jumps, and landings, Ranma Saotome made his way to Beika Public Library; the only library near Nermia that opened at 6:00 in the morning.

…(end mini flashback)…

_And maybe then…_

_We can start all over…_

_Again…_

Such a bitter sweet song… it brought much nostalgia to Meiji. His past life… but he now had a new life, and he would have to see what he could do.

…oO( Division One headquarters )Oo…

Yumi was having a good day. Sato had just called her and told the good, and the already known bad news. She did not mind waiting at the police station for more of these "status updates" every now and then, but she couldn't stand it anymore. Stand what?

She was sitting and doing nothing! She just wanted to DO SOMETHING so that she wouldn't feel helpless and useless. So here she was, walking to her policecar to do a voluntary patrol then two girls, one Japanese and one gajin, came up to her.

"Hello police-san" said the Japanese girl with a pageboy cut. "We believe that we have important information on a case your investigators are working on, the murder on the thirteenth floor of Beika hotel."

Shocked that these two people had knowledge of such sensitive material, Yumi stood here shocked. As she reached for her cell phone, a familiar inspector came up to her.

"Inspector Chou! Its been a while!" Yumi exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't seen him since he was transferred to Tottori.

"Hello Officer Miyamoto, it sure has. Good old Megure told me to take a small… vacation… from my ongoing case. I need a little help to get to the… scene of the crime…" replied the star inspector.

"Oh really now?" all eyes were on the smart looking Japanese woman. "I believe that you can transport us too, Officer Yumi Miyamoto, along with your friend from Tottori."

"Wha? HOW DID YOU KNOW ALL THAT?" was all a shocked Yumi could shout… I mean say.

"Now that is an Elementary Question, my dear Miyamoto." Was the Japanese woman's reply. "After all, I am a detective… Nabiki Tendo, Detective and law student! And hiding behind me is the number one witness to the crime you will be investigating, Sofie Lauria."

Remembering her earlier plea for a female detective, Yumi became elated. Then she remembered the privacy demanded by the hotel, tourism department, and the ICPO. And so, she was forced to deter Nabiki with a "I'm sorry detective, but this case is highly secretive. I cannot let you get involved."

Foreseeing this problem long ago, the shrewd Nabiki already had a plan. "Oh well… I guess I could just walk away with possibly… misguided… information on the… evidence … crime scene… and circumstances… that I may tell others… or even ask Questions… about, No? Freedom of speech, after all, does not forbid me to say what I already know… like the victim's name, nationality, and the frightening Message that was left behind… Right?"

Clearly hearing the emphasis on the certain words and the implied threats, both Miyamoto and Chou knew that they played straight into this manipulative woman's hands. Not willing to see if this detective was bluffing, they folded in the face of such credible intimidation.

It was Inspector Chou who threw away his poker face first. "I see you are in deeper than we expected… well, from my experiences, young detectives often see things older investigators do not… ah, young conan and his friends truly did help during that last case that I did before the transfer…" he said as he reminisced. "Welcome aboard, Detective Tendo!"

Seeing that witness, young detective, and star inspector all needed to be brought to the crime scene, Miyamoto was ready to take them and to check up on the two lovebirds. But first, she needed permission to do so. To remedy this problem, her hand soon was holding her cell phone. She quickly called the Inspector uber fast.

"/Moshi Moshi, Izou Megure here\"

"Inspector Megure, this is Officer Miyamoto. At my side I have a witness, Sofie Lauria-san; a detective, Nabiki Tendo-san; and our star inspector, Takagi Chou-sama. They all know about the crime and wish to be transported to the scene. Will you authorize this transport?"

One could almost hear Megure think as he pondered the pros and cons of bringing a new detective.

"/Hm… Alright, bring all of them over. I just hope Tendo-san is like all the other detectives we know… and I know you just want to see Takagi and Sato again. Their break is in a few minutes, so please try to arrive before it ends.\"

pleased by this news, and by the chance to see and talk to her friends, Yumi's reply conveyed her happiness. "Yes sir! I'll be right over!"

Turning to the small assembly of people related to this case, Yumi nodded and told them of the good news.

"Alright! Get in the car! We're off to the Crime Scene!"

Nabiki stalled a bit as she waited for everyone to get into the car before her. With this one moment of reprise, she looked outwards and over the top of the car.

Talking in the sight of the center city in mid-afternoon, she kept this image close to her heart.

After all, at the end of the day, it was the city who slept more sound, not her.

"Tendo-san, please get into the vehicle… I want to catch the criminal as soon as possible" remarked Inspector Chou.

"Coming…" was Nabiki's response.

As she got into the policecar, she took one last look at the city, and muttered

"Time and time again, I ask myself…"

--------(Beika Central Hotel)-----------

In the middle of investigating this horrible crime, Inspector Megure took a little break. Then he noticed that his faithful team had not taken even one-quarter of the breaks he did! Shocked by how hard they were working, he came up to Takagi and Sato who were mysteriously working suspiciously close to each other.

"Sato-san, Takagi-san. I have noticed something strange about your investigating" He declared while behind them.

Surprised by the sudden comment, Sato and Takagi abruptly turned to face their superior and started to sputter out half-said excuses.

But before Megure could decipher what they were saying, his mobile phone rang.

With practiced ease, he fished it out of his pocked and answered it.

"Moshi Moshi, Izou Megure here."

"/Inspector Megure, this is Officer Miyamoto. At my side I have a witness, Sofie Lauria-san; a detective, Nabiki Tendo-san; and our star inspector, Takagi Chou-sama. They all know about the crime and wish to be transported to the scene. Will you authorize this transport?\"

Happy that Inspector Chou got his message, Megure's mind then realized the second part of the message. The main witness had gone to a detective. Another person was involved in this case… oh well. Be careful what you wish for no? was what his thoughts seemed to revolve around as he remembered his earlier declaration on how they were so useful.

Then, he recalled the friendship in-between Takagi, Sato, and Yumi. He now had an excuse to force those two to take that break that he knew they desperately needed.

Implementing his plan, he said, "Hm… Alright, bring all of them over. I just hope Tendo-san is like all the other detectives we know… and I know you just want to see Takagi and Sato again. Their break is in a few minutes, so please try to arrive before it ends."

Inspector Megure could literally hear Yumi happiness. "Yes sir! I'll be right over!"

As hung up and turned around to face the shocked couple, he merely shrugged and said "The problem is that you're not having enough breaks!"

Oblivious to the double facefault that just happened, Inspector Megure turned away and remarked "Yumi's coming soon. So get ready to take your coffee break"

--------(Minutes Later)--------

"Konnichiwa Inspector Megure, My name is Nabiki Tendo, Detective" Said the detective, while extending her hand for a handshake.

"Konnichiwa Tendo-san" replied the Inspector as he took her hand and shook it.

It was the start of a new era as the two sides shook hands. Inspector Megure didn't know it, but from that day on, Nabiki would be able to get into almost any crime scene she wanted to be in. After all, Megure had to argue with Heizo for a while… but then Nabiki revealed her trump cards and that she was in law school … ahh… but before we can tell you that story, we must go over THIS story.

As introductions were made and the significance of certain pieces of evidence were debated, Takagi made a comment that would finally get the investigation on track.

"What's that smell?" he asked.

Most of the policemen and investigators denied smelling any odor, yet the ones who could smell it had one common theme: they had all been outside for a while.

Megure, Chou, Takagi, Sato, Miyamoto, Nabiki and Sofie all could smell the nauseating smell. Megure, Takagi, and Sato all went outside to greet the incoming car that Yumi drove. Coincidence? No; at least that is what one of the inspectors thought.

Inspector Chou, having been at a few exhumings and embalmings before knew that smell. He knew it well.

"Embalming fluid… also known as Formaldehyde." He said with conviction. "The smell would have been covered up by the smell of all the blood and all of the body parts before… then as the blood smell faded over time, the smell of Formaldehyde was already "tuned out" by the people who were here earlier. That's why only the people who went outside can smell it now…"

Sofie, remembering the horror stories of Jack the Ripper, could only comment, "Oh my god… he took a piece of Laura with him!"

At that comment, everyone froze. Such a twisted man must have done this! A rape, A murder, A mutilation… it was a crime against humanity.

Of course, Sato then thought of something. "Wait… we thought that it was a rape because of a few drops of fluid on the bed… could those drops of fluid be Formaldehyde?"

Chief inspector Hattatori spoke for the first time since the introductions were made. "Test it! Right away! If we have the false pretenses that the criminal is a male when it could be a female…"

Everyone could hear his hidden threat as his voice trialed off.

Nabiki decided to add a comment as Sato handed the swabs of the fluid to Yumi for transportation. "Crime… can be done by anyone at anytime… even though everyone is truly innocent until proven guilty, no matter if he or she is apart of the family of the victim or a seasoned serial killer. Yet at the same time, suspect everyone."

Hattatori knew these words well. It was what a famous young lawyer said once during his opening argument. Heizo could not remember if the lawyer was on the prosecution, or the defense, but it didn't matter. One cannot change truth. He no longer had much trepidation on allowing this young detective to work on the case.

And so, Nabiki Tendo began the journey of being a famous young detective with one of the biggest cases of all.

The case that was given many names by the select few who knew the details about it: Cursed 13, Land of the Ripped Sun, Japan the ripper…

And the one that detective Tendo always would remember it by….

The Bloody Murder

-------(end file 3)-----

Notes:

(1) These are actual kinds of products in Japan. I merely translated and parodied them… but not much. Face thinning mask? (looks like a hockey mask that is 4 times too small) Lip enlarger? (some sort of springy plastic device Japanese people put in their mouths to make their lips and mouth expand) Feh… I'll never understand mainstream people…

Ending Author Notes.

SIL: I bet this is what you're thinking right now: "OMG! Meiji is Ranma! C'mon! Who else but Ranma would take a name off of a candy wrapper?" Hm? Oh… that's not what surprised you? Ah… it's that Ranma's curse is still active? … If you DON'T lose your MEMORIES, ya think massive Cell Death will destroy MAGIC?

Acte: SIL SHUT UP! Umm… sorry about Sil. I let him write the notes up 'til now because… well… I drank a bit too much Milk tea… Well… let me continue with the explanation. (Forgive me if I go hyper)

Cell death does not make things other than life go away. Since Ki is literally energy, and in the Ranmaverse it is Life energy, Cell death needs certain energy to work, and with a pill that small destroying trillions/quadrillions of cells needs… A LOT OF ENERGY! YUP! Lots! So… it would make sense that the pill makes Ki go haywire, and people more in tune with their ki would be able to save their own lives. Ranma has not lost ALL of his formidable strength. His strength right now is... merely hampered currently by their vitamin deficiency caused atrophy and damage done by the apotoxin.

For Shinichi's case (Jimmy), he is a teenager (plus five damage resistance, and plus five recovery), and he plays soccer, putting him more in tune with his ki. Remember… he lost ALL his strength, even though he has not had any atrophy caused by malnutrition. Yet his skills stayed the same.

Hm? Oh… that's not it either? Don't know where I get the pill is water soluble? Gin placed the pill in Shinichi's mouth. Gin then poured water from a test tube into his mouth. People would normally cough everything out at that point by reflex if they were asleep/unconscious, but Shinichi did not. He could have easily tucked the pill under his tongue and have avoided being "killed", but the water… the water could easily have solvated the toxin and then carried it into his system.

If there is any more questions, please ask me… I'll attempt to include the answers in the next chapter.

SNEAK PEAK! (WAY IN THE FUTURE!)

"There comes a time where a man must do what he is most unwilling to do, for the most undeserving of people, for the sole reason that the man has great power. And with great power, comes great responsibility." I was once told by an old man.

I did not know what it meant back then, but now… now I knew. To save all of these pompous detectives (in the hope that their crime solving would make the world a better place), I had to fight these gun-wielding murderers. It was up to me to reveal all I wanted to be kept secret; to figuratively kill myself for the sake of the rest of the world.

I hope those undeserving detectives survive and catch lots of criminals for me.

As I get up to face my intimidating enemies, I could not resist one last verbal stab: "I don't know what I'm doing, but in all courts of law I am acting in self defense… Sorry about this! But YOU are the ones that got to die! SHI-NE!"

And with that, I entered the final fight in the life of

Chapter 3 end.

NEXT DETECTIVE MANIPULATION HINT: "Misguided Motive"


End file.
